Project Grant R10AP20105

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, through its WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) grant program (CFDA 15.507), has awarded $529,381 to the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) to develop a water strategy for a cloud seeding pilot project to augment natural precipitation over the Nacimiento and San Antonio watersheds in California. The grant funding will enable MCWRA to conduct additional hydrologic and environmental analysis,...

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $299,918 Project Grant to the Walker Basin Conservancy under the Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CFDA 15.554). The grant will support the Conservancy's efforts to establish a Walker River Basin Watershed Group that will identify landscape-scale watershed priorities and plan actions to address them using a comprehensive approach focused on stakeholder engagement and finding multi-benefit solutions. Key activities include engaging diverse...

The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $152,000 Project Grant under the Applied Science Grants program (CFDA 15.557) to the North Unit Irrigation District in Madras, Oregon. The purpose of the grant is to investigate the feasibility of using cloud seeding as a means to balance climate variability and improve water management in the Deschutes Basin region of Oregon. The key activities to be performed under this grant include: 1) Developing a high-resolution weather model to simulate cloud cover,...

This $1,953,858.31 Cooperative Agreement awarded on February 7, 2025 by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation under the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program (CFDA 15.078) seeks to implement Airborne Snow Observatory technology in the Weber River watershed in North-Central Utah. The project will involve conducting airborne LiDAR and spectrometer surveys to gather snowpack data, which will then be integrated into weather and hydrological models to enhance snowpack...

The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $1,094,619 Cooperative Agreement to the Desert Research Institute (DRI) at the Nevada System of Higher Education under the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program (CFDA 15.078). The project aims to enhance water supply forecasting in the western U.S. by deploying a novel non-contact infrared snow temperature profiler (STP) to measure vertical snow temperature profiles during federal snow survey operations. This data will be used to validate and improve...

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, under the SECURE Water Act - Research Agreements program (CFDA 15.560), awarded a $292,760 Cooperative Agreement to the Desert Research Institute (DRI) of the Nevada System of Higher Education. The funding will support the continuation of an in-situ evaporation monitoring study at Lake Powell from 2025 to 2028. The project aims to collect the longest continuous record of over-water meteorological observations and evaporation estimates at Lake Powell, which will be...

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $1,999,999.00 Cooperative Agreement under the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program (CFDA 15.078) to the Colorado River Authority of Utah. The 3-year project will provide airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) snow surveys to evaluate the improvements in accuracy and reliability of water supply forecasts and the benefits to water management operations. This will be the first implementation of airborne snow mapping and forecast integration in Utah....

This Cooperative Agreement award of $1,175,151.46 from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation under the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program (CFDA 15.078) aims to improve water supply forecasting capabilities through enhanced snow monitoring. The project has two key objectives: (1) fusing high-resolution LiDAR data with lower-resolution in-situ snow measurements to obtain better snowpack modeling results, and (2) scaling LiDAR data collection to larger areas to achieve...

The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $1,060,448 Cooperative Agreement on December 20, 2023, under the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program (CFDA 15.078) to The Regents of the University of Colorado. This grant aims to improve water supply forecasts by enhancing snow monitoring through the deployment of emerging technologies, such as airborne LiDAR, and better integration of snow data into forecasting models. The project has two sub-awards - one to Oregon State University to assist in...

The federal Project Grant award of $574,902 from the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation's Applied Science Grants program (CFDA 15.557) will support the Nevada System of Higher Education's Desert Research Institute in developing a decision support framework to communicate the risk of significant rain-on-snow runoff events in the Mokelumne River watershed. The project aims to integrate tools that will help optimize water resource management and ensure the safe conveyance and...